Blood supplies at a critical low, donors needed

Blood banks across the region are running low on blood supplies and in some cases, there’s a critical need for donors.

Christine Hayes is spokeswoman for the Lifeserve Blood Center, which serves 90 hospitals throughout Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.

“We typically like to have a five-day supply of all blood types on our shelves to be able to respond to the ever-changing needs of our hospitals,” Hayes said. But, donations typically drop during the summer months and it’s not unusual for supplies to drop to a three-day level.

She says the current blood supply is much lower than expected. “At this time, we have a critical need in many of our blood types and have less than a day’s supply of blood on our shelves,” Hayes says.

The center needs about 8,000 to 10,000 units of blood a week to meet demand.

She says about 25% of the center’s donors are between the ages of 16 and 24.

“Obviously, during the summer months, our ability to recruit this section of the population is lowered because they are not in school. We hope to see an increase in our blood supply when these students go back to school,” Hayes says.